Like so many of us, Rocket the dog loves books — loves reading them, listening to books read aloud, even likes the way books smell. In Tad Hills’ “Rocket Writes a Story,” the dog collects words, too, and decides to combine his passions by writing a story.

Then he gets writer’s block: “He looked down at the blank page and the blank page looked up at him. But no story would come.” (So cruelly true!) His mentor, a yellow bird, suggests choosing a character, thinking about that character’s life, and answering the question, “Then what happened?” The answer: A tale that leaves Rocket and readers wagging their tails.